


1996

by myamya



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Red & Green & Blue & Yellow | Pokemon Red Green Blue Yellow Versions
Genre: A nice ending, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort/Angst, M/M, a repost from ff.net, happy 25th anniversary pokemon!, kinda romantic if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:08:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29692032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myamya/pseuds/myamya
Summary: "The last time you saw Red was what, three years ago?"
Relationships: Ookido Green | Blue Oak/Red
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	1996

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 25th anniversary pokemon! Wow, what joy this series has brought to my life :)
> 
> Anyway, this was originally written and posted on ff.net back in 2013 but I decided to bring it over to here. I've made a few little adjustments but it's mostly the same. I've never really written in present tense before so I hope it's all good!

"Hey, wasn't it back in 1996?"

He first hears someone say it in '98 when he is applying for the recently-vacated Viridian gym leader position (supposedly the leader after Giovanni found the pressure too much and had to resign, but that wouldn't happen to him, he was sure of it). The League official is watching him fill in the form and recognises his name - though Green had never met the man before and is pretty sure that he's breaking some sort of privacy law - and it apparently dawns on him at that exact moment that this was the guy that the famed Red ousted from his spot as Champion.

"Was what back in 1996?" He replies challenging, grip tightening on the pen he's using to sign the application form. He knows _exactly_ what the guy is talking about but he wants to make him say it, make him feel awkward. Although he's not quite sure why he's having such an adverse reaction to the comment, he thought he was over it.

"Oh, you know," He hesitates and Green looks up, eyes narrowing. _Say it._ The guy shrinks a little under his intense scrutiny and although Green feels ninety-nine percent irritated now, one percent of him feels smug. "When you and--"

"When Red beat me and kicked me out of the Champion position, the position we'd both been dreaming of our entire lives, only to up and leave himself a few days later? Is that what you're talking about?" Daisy had called him dramatic all throughout their childhood and still often does when he calls to talk to her on the phone but he can't see it.

Anyway, the guy just nods and Green shoves the now completed paper at him. Once done, he skulks off to take a seat with the other applicants, crossing his arms over his chest very pointedly. He must have been giving a very off vibe because the other applicants shift their chairs slightly away from him. _Good,_ he thinks. He's here to get a job, _not_ to make small-talk.

...

_He still thinks about Red on occasion._

_Okay, so maybe pretty frequently._

_But it's usually just what an idiot he is for sitting at the top of a freezing mountain for so long._

...

He hears people saying it everywhere after that - his neighbours to each other as he's walking to his new apartment door, people in cafes even if they don't realise he's there and occasionally even on League programs on tv. Each time he's just as annoyed as the last and one day when he's at the Pokemon Centre, he actually storms out when he overhears a conversation between two younger trainers about the famed battle.

But anyway, it's 1999 now and while he's been a gym leader for a year already, he's only just had his first loss. It's to this kid called Ethan, he's from some middle-of-nowhere town in Johto but apparently he'd managed to beat the Elite Four and Champion a few months ago (though Lance wasn't exactly the toughest opponent, having lost to three younger trainers at this point). So himself losing hadn't come as a complete surprise, but that didn't mean he was happy about it and was very reluctantly grabbing the badge out of his office for him.

He comes back out to where Ethan is waiting when said kid yells across the room, "I watched your battle with Red three years ago, you two were so cool," He grins, oblivious to the fact Green's fists are clenched at his sides, quite possibly breaking the badge he has yet to receive. Or may not ever receive if he doesn't shut up. "You guys were actually the main reason I became a trainer. I really wanted to challenge you!"

It's supposed to be a compliment, but he's too annoyed to care. He probably only wanted to challenge Red anyway.

...

_He would like to see him again._

_Not because he misses him or wants to be like best friends, but to battle. He's a lot better than he was, he'd probably beat him now._

_He wants to yell at him too, for leaving them all down here. Did he not think about what it was like for them to have someone suddenly gone like that? Although that wasn't really his responsibility._

_But no, he definitely doesn't miss him._

...

A few months later and he's at his grandfather's place, keeping him company while the man sits in his office doing some sort of boring research he doesn't care to understand. Green's bored though, and the only thing to do is pace around the room, occasionally inspecting books and not putting them back on their shelves. It's not his fault though, if you had this many books then it was kind of a given that they would get messed up sometimes.

Gramps isn't enjoying it though and utters a few complaints when he notices them stacking up on his desk. But it comes to the crux when Green accidentally drops a heavy encyclopaedia on his hand and swears loudly. That's going to hurt for days but it _may_ get him out of doing his paperwork for a while.

"You should go visit Red." He sighs, turning around from his work and shaking his head. Green frowns, not sure whether his grandad is actually concerned about Red up there on the mountain or he just wants someone else to occupy Green's time.

"Why?" He shoots back, ignoring the pain in his hand and suddenly on the defensive. Why won't people give it a rest?

"Because you two used to be best friends and you haven't seen him since...what, 1996 now?"

Huh, that's right...he hasn't. He hadn't realised it had been so long.

While he usually flies off the handle when people bring up his humiliating loss to the guy, he _does_ in some tiny minuscule way maybe kind of want to see him again, though he'd never admit it to anyone or even himself. He ignores it most of the time and gets on with things, but honestly, his grandfather, Daisy and Red were the only things he had when he was growing up and now a third of that was gone. It's normal to feel something about that, right?

He pushes away the thoughts and sits down, narrowing his eyes at the old man. "I'm not going to trek all the way up that stupid mountain, he can come down here if he wants to see me."

...

_Fine. He does miss him. What of it?_

...

So maybe he does climb up the mountain. Though it's six months later and has absolutely nothing to do with his grandfather suggesting it, really. In fact, the excuse he's used is that he wants to do some professional development. Train in some harsh conditions to maintain his almost squeaky-clean win record. But as he stands in the freezing cold snowstorm, arms crossed over his chest he asks himself why the hell he did it.

It's horrible up here and doesn't get why Red would willingly stay year after year. He doesn't make a secret of this either, the first thing he says when he sees the guy is, "You're going to die in his freezing weather."

It's only when he's sitting next to him by a small fire later on, thawing out that he realises he's done something pretty big. He's scaled the terrifying cliffs to find his elusive friend that everyone back down on earth only half-believe exists...and then he starts to freak out. He's put this off for so long but now he's here and he has no idea what to do. He has all these issues he hasn't dealt with from that battle and he's never thought about them until now. And so he sits completely still, hoping that Red won't notice.

Thankfully he doesn't seem to, and inches closer to the fire to warm up his hands. He rubs them together for a minute and then turns to him to say with a grin, "Why the sudden appearance? I'm glad you're here, but I haven't seen you for years. I think the last time was like three years ago."

"I don't know," He shifts away slightly, fighting the urge to sock him in the face. He's exactly the same as when they were younger, oblivious and carefree. Green is envious, always has been. "Kept hearing people talk about our fight and thought I should come check on you, make sure you're still alive."

Red lets out a small _ah_ and redirects his attention to the little flames in front of them. He looks awkward and Green is surprised at this character development. "I've been thinking a lot about that," He says. "And I need to apologise. If I'd just worked out that the job wasn't for me earlier then this would have all been avoided. You'd still be the Champion, making bank but instead I screwed us both over." He was talking of course about the Pokemon League's rule about only getting to hold the position once, hence the gym leader thing now.

"It's okay."

His fists have balled up at his sides but as the words sink in, they relax and his scowl turns into a smile which then turns into a laugh. He feels warm, but then he feels cold and then warm again, he's not sure how to explain it other than he's unsure of which direction his emotions want to go in. It's a physical reaction to how he's feeling, but he shoves Red's arm which sends his friend toppling into the snow. For a moment he's stunned, unsure of what exactly just happened until Green joins him and they both dissolve into fits of laughter that echoes so loudly around the mountain and can probably be heard back in Viridian.

"It's okay." Green repeats and it really, _really_ is.

...

_Okay, yes, he missed him like crazy._

_But Red tells him that he missed him too._

_They did used to be best friends after all._

...

Green's watching out the window, there's a younger trainer walking towards the entrance of his gym and he knows that in about ten minutes he's going to want to challenge him. Battling is the last thing he feels like today though because for the first time in months, Red has come to visit him at work. They're sitting in his office on the second floor but all Green wants to do is go back home and collapse onto the couch with him, the office is stuffy and not nearly as comfortable.

"Is that how you watched me approach you last time we battled?" His voice echoes from behind and Green turns around to find him absentmindedly swinging around on his spinning desk chair. "Out your ivory Champion's tower at the top of the League, looking down at all the novice trainers and sticking your nose up at them."

He grins, kicking the leg of his chair and sending him halfway across the room. "What, back in 1996 you mean?" Red stares at him, open-mouthed for a moment before jumping out the chair and bounding across the room to throw his arms around Green's smaller shoulders. He stiffens at the sudden embrace but soon relaxes, part of him still unsure if this is really Red or some apparition created by a ghost pokemon.

He feels much better about what happened back then now. He has a great team of trainers working under him, a well paying job and Red's back down in civilisation with him, plus that was _so_ four years. Who wants to dwell on something that long ago?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!


End file.
